A 102-year-old great-grandfather with dementia has died after he was allegedly pushed from a stage inside his local pub when he complained that the music was too loud.
Phillip Ormerod, of Cwmbran in South Wales, died in the hospital this week after suffering a broken hip during the Aug. 1 incident at the Crow’s Nest pub.
His son, Robert Ormerod, said his father had gone to the bar for a drink on Saturday night when he walked onto the stage to ask for the music to be turned down.
“He just asked them to turn the music down,” Robert told the Press Association.
According to Robert, Phillip turned around to make his way back off the stage when he was allegedly pushed.
The fall left the 102-year-old with a broken hip.
He spent roughly a week and a half in the hospital before dying.
Robert said the way his father spent his final days has been especially difficult for the family.
“He wasn’t going to live forever but it’s not a nice way, obviously in pain,” he said.
“We want to see justice, of course.”
Robert added that whoever was involved must have realized his father was elderly.
“They must have known he was an old man. It makes you wonder what the world is coming to,” he said.
“It would’ve been nice if he’d gone quietly in his sleep. He was in hospital, suffering, for a week-and-a-half. It’s not nice.”
Phillip was a great-grandfather and had worked as a design draftsman before retiring.
He continued living in Llanyrafon after his wife died about 40 years ago.
As he got older, his two sons regularly visited him and helped with everyday tasks.
Robert said he and his brother helped clean their father’s home and buy groceries after Phillip’s eyesight began deteriorating.
Phillip had also been diagnosed with dementia a couple of years earlier, although his family believes he may have been living with the condition for longer.
Despite his age and health problems, Phillip remained a familiar face around the neighborhood.
Robert said his father visited the Crow’s Nest two or three times a week for a beer and had become something of a local celebrity among younger customers.
“I suppose he became a pub character,” Robert said.
He said younger patrons would sometimes buy Phillip drinks when they saw him at the bar.
Robert recalled that the Crow’s Nest had once been a traditional local pub visited by people of all ages before becoming more popular with younger customers.
Emergency services were called to the pub at about 10:25 p.m. on Aug. 1 after receiving a report of an assault.
Police arrested a 56-year-old man from Llanelli on suspicion of an offense known in the U.K. as Section 20 assault, which generally involves unlawfully causing serious bodily injury.
The man remains under investigation.
Authorities have not publicly announced whether the suspect could face additional or upgraded charges following Phillip’s death.
Phillip’s family is now mourning a man who remained independent well into his 100s and was still regularly heading out for a beer at his neighborhood pub.
For Robert, however, the focus is also on accountability for what allegedly happened during what should have been an ordinary night out.